NSB recognizes accomplishments

Charles Townes, actor Alan Alda, and the chairman of Intel Corp are among this year’s winners of awards presented by the National Science Board, the governing board of NSF, in recognition of their contributions to science. The honors were presented during a May ceremony in Washington, DC.

Townes, a Nobel laureate considered to be the father of quantum electronics, is the co-recipient of the 2006 Vannevar Bush Award, the NSB’s top honor. A professor in the graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, Townes received the award “for his notable scientific discoveries and research in the fields of quantum electronics and astrophysics, and [his] distinguished public service influencing federal policies on science and technology issues.” Work by Townes, whom NSB credits with inventing and demonstrating the maser (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) and its optical counterpart, the laser, kick-started a new generation of modern communications, global networks, and photonic science and technology. His work has led to such developments as the atomic clocks that keep the world’s time and the ultrasensitive radio receivers that were part of the first communications satellites. Townes shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for accomplishments in quantum electronics.

Emmanuel J. Candes, professor of applied and computational mathematics at Caltech, received the Alan T. Waterman Award “for his fundamental research in computational mathematics and statistical estimation, with applications to signal compression and image processing.” The board, which cited Candes’s development of new mathematical tools that allow efficient digital representation of wave signals together with his discovery of new methods to translate analog data into a cleaner, tighter digital form, said the work promises to improve the digital processing of signals in a vast array of modern technologies.

Alda, a well-known Hollywood actor who is host of the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers, won a Public Service Award “for his contagious enthusiasm in fostering wonder and discovery by bringing complex scientific concepts to all audiences through television and the dramatic arts.” Craig R. Barrett, chairman of the board of directors of Intel, garnered a Public Service Award “for his outstanding promotion of science education, dedicated commitment to the public’s understanding of science, and positive influence on science and technology policy.” Under Barrett’s leadership, Intel now invests about $100 million annually in programs to improve science and mathematics education in more than 50 countries. Barrett’s interest in teachers led him to direct Intel to undertake “Teach to the Future,” a program that has trained more than 3 million US teachers on how to integrate technology into their classrooms.

The group Public Service Award went to the Association of Science-Technology Centers, a major supporter and representative of science centers and museums, “for excellence and innovation in informal science education to advance public understanding of science among diverse audiences worldwide.” ASTC, based in Washington, DC, supports new science and technology centers and helps members develop innovative ways to boost comprehension and appreciation of science.